In the following, the term “e-commerce” should be broadly interpreted and may include content such as Web pages, text files, multimedia files, object features, link structure, etc.
There are a number of terms requiring definition that are at the core of the existing methodologies. XSD is defined as a library that provides an API for manipulating the components of an XML Schema. This is as described by the W3C XML Schema specifications, as well as an API for manipulating the DOM-accessible representation of XML Schema as a series of XML documents, and for keeping these representations in agreement as schemas are modified.
The Extensible Stylesheet Language Family (XSL) XSL is a family of recommendations for defining XML document transformation and presentation.
The Real time Scalable Vector Graphic (SVG) is the capability to dynamically add graphic components into the database while linking the graphics to specific costing related items.
E-Commerce of Parts to Specification or Stocked in Inventory for E-Commerce
On the Internet, the World Wide Web (referred to as “the Web”) e-commerce sites exist for inventory and made to specification. Most sites today that sell to options have a form where the prospect has to describe what it is that they want by answering the questions in the spaces provided. This general form for a broad based product line leads to many iterations back and forth before the specification can be determined as to what will be the final quoted price.
Problems Raised by Present E-Commerce Solutions
A programmer can write hard code to ask the option questions for each product family in the database but when new product families are added or prices change only the programmer can make the changes.
When parts are stocked in inventory there is no easy retrieval of the specification as to how the product was made.
Known Techniques for Product Specifications in E-Commerce
Some previous e-commerce techniques exist such as the Universal Description, Discovery and Integration (UDDI). However, it only publishes the Web Services Default Language (WSDL) for a company for there product line and does not go down to each product family specification.
Some portals have arrangements with e-commerce web site where they display prices of inventory items but do not address products that are made to specification.
There are numerous patents already granted for e-commerce and electronic shopping carts. For example, Kenny in U.S. Pat. No. 6,381,583, teaches how to make an interactive shopping mall in a virtual representation. This does not however, handle the made to specification problems as presented. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,167,383, Henson teaches how sell computer system with various user selections using an online shopping cart system. However, it does not handle the made to specification problems. This would require knowing how the product was made or special shipping instructions and host of other product specific information.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide an interactive capability to dynamically determine a quoted price without the requirement of multiple query iterations between the buyer and seller for made to specification products.
It is also desirable to have such capability without the need of a computer programmer and to be able to modify and add new products easily.